Aug 9, 2012

Two remarkable self-catering houses in the Ronda mountains These stunning houses are let by Guy Hunter Watts on a weekly basis. Guy has previously lived in both houses and now lives on a farm close by where he and Tiki produce organic olive oil. Both houses reflect a love of art, literature, music and travel and are no ordinary ‘rental villas’. Each...

Jul 9, 2012

Report Confirms Nightmare Year for Spanish Publishers, Bankruptcies Loom Publishing Perspectives recently featured the above article following the publication of the overdue annual report (PDF) of the Spanish Publishers Guild (FGEE). Here are my views on this: I’m afraid the contents of this report are not a surprise to me. The main problems with...

Paris ‘ Village Voice English Language Bookshop to close – can independent bookshops survive the Amazon onslaught? Last week Publishing Perspectives reported that the Village Voice Bookshop in Paris is to close at the end of July: Closing of Paris’ Village Voice Bookshop Marks End of an Era Naturally this has re-ignited the debate about the...

Please support the Motor Neurone Disease Association Have you lost a loved one, friend or colleague to Motor Neurone Disease?  If so you will know what a terrible disease it is for the sufferers and those around them.  Even if you have not been touched by MND maybe you’ve seen Professor Stephen Hawkin, or the attempts by people suffering this awful disease,...

What is it about Spain that attracts so many Foreign Writers? Paddy Walker of The Artichoke Adventures, a blog about Spain; its culture, gastronomy and people, has saved me the trouble of having to articulate why over the centuries so many foreign writers have visited Spain, lived in Spain and written about Spain. The list of such writers is long and varied and...

Seville, Spain 11 may 2012, Fundacion Jose Manuel Lara (press release provided by Jose Antonio Sierra Lumbreras) Ian Gibson, the leading hispanist author, has won the 27th Fernando Lara Prize for his novel La berlina de Prim.  The jury announced its decision during a dinner at the Real Alcazar of Seville.  “Its one of the greatest moments of my...

Sevilla, 11 de mayo de 2012 (informacion facilitada por Jose Antonio Sierra Lumbreras) Ian Gibson ha obtenido el XXVII Premio de Novela Fernando Lara con la obra La berlina de Prim. El Jurado de este Premio hizo público el fallo durante una cena celebrada en el Real Alcázar de Sevilla.” Es uno de los grandes momentos de mi vida”, dijo el escritor tras...

The New Spaniards is a seminal work which was first published in 1986 and subsequently revised and updated 20 years later in 2006.  It deals primarily with the Transition in Spain to democracy after Franco’s death but also discusses the social and economic situation in Spain during Franco’s rule by means of background. Recently its author, John...